Printing kit



Feb. 13, 1962 R. J. PRosT 3,020,838

PRINTING KIT Filed Jan. 4, 1960 United States Patent 3,020,838 PRINTING KIT Raymond .L Prost, 100 S. Jefferson St., Chicago, Ill. Filed Jan. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 321 7 Claims. (Cl. 101-333) The present invention relates to a printing kit usable 1n the home and oice for printing small blocks of information or the like on stationery, labels, etc., such as names, addresses, price information and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing or stamping kit comprising at least one stamping member, an ink pad receptacle and another receptacle for holding some additional printing accessory, wherein the stamping member and the receptacles are arranged into a compact, convenient-to-use unitary assembly. A related object of the invention is to provide the printing kit just described which includes at least two stamping members for printing different information and wherein said accessory carrying receptacle carries the ink pad for the additional stampingv member. A still further related object of the invention is to provide a printing kit as above described wherein the various parts of the assembly are nested together and are releasably held together in a manner where the parts may be separated quickly and easily, and, when separated, are ready for immediate use.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a printing kit as above described where the accessory carrying receptacle holds labels to be stamped by the stamping member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a printing kit assembly as above described which is of very simple and inexpensive construction.

In accordance with the present invention, the printing kit comprises as least three component parts which are superimposed one upon the other. The uppermost part comprises a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and an upwardly extending handle at the top thereof. The intermediate part comprises an open top receptacle having an ink pad in the bottomv thereof. The stamping member is received within the latter receptacle and means are provided for releasably locking the stamping member therein with its printing die in contact with the ink pad. The bottommost part of the assembly comprises an open top accessory carrying receptacle which receives the rst mentioned or upper receptacle.- Means are preferably provided for releasably locking the upper receptacle within the lower receptacle.

In accordance with one form of the invention, the lower receptacle is provided with space for storing labels which are to be printed by the stamping member. In such case, it is preferable that the'lower receptacle have' a transparent bottom wall through which the printed side of a label stamped with the aforesaid stamping member is visible so that the information printed thereby is apparent without removing the stamping member from the assembly.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the lowerreceptacle has an ink pad therein, and a printing A tains labels;

die is secured to the bottom of the upper receptacle which thereby forms a second stamping member as well as an ink pad receptacle. The latter printing die normally contacts the ink pad in the lower receptacle. The printing die on the bottom of the first mentioned or upper stamping member and the printing die on the bottom of the upper receptacle contain dissimilar information, and, for certain applications, the ink pads in the upper and lower receptacles are wetted with-different colored inks.

c 3,020,838 Patented Feb. 13,'1962 2 stamping member lis'substantially completely telescoped within the upper receptacle, and the upper receptacle is substantially completely telescoped within the lower receptacle for maximum compactness. In such case, the upper rim of the lower receptacle is provided with lingerreceiving slots on the opposite sides thereof which expose sufficient areas of the upper receptacle to enable the user to grasp the upper receptacle for removing the same from the lower receptacle to expose the printing die on the bottom thereof or the labels in the lower receptacle, or for holding the same within the lower receptacle as the stamping member is removed from the upper receptacle with the other hand.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent upon making reference to the specification to follow, the claims and the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, partly broken away, of the component parts of the form of the present invention wherein the accessory carrying receptacle con- FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the assembly of the component parts shown in FIG. l; y

FIG. 3 is a transverse section through the assembly of FIG. 2, taken substantially along the line 3--3 therein;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, partly broken away, of the form of the present invention wherein the stamping member carrying receptacle has a printing die on the bottom thereof and the accessory carrying receptacle has an ink pad therein, and showing the former recepatcle and the stamping member therein removed as a unit from the lower receptacle;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view, partly broken away, of the form of the invention shown in FIG. 5 wherein the upper stamping member is removed from its ink pad receptacle which is left within the lower receptacle;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section through the assembly of the three component parts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6; and i FIG. 8 is a transverse section through the assembly of FIG. 7, taken substantially along the line 8-8 therein.

Referring first to the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-4, the printing kit there shown comprises three main superimposed parts 2, 4 and 6. The uppermost part 2 forms a stamping member with a preferably thin rectangular body 8 made of a molded synthetic plastic material. The body has an upwardly and longitudinally extending handle 10 at the top thereof and a printing die 12 made of rubber-like orother suitable material adhesively or otherwise secured to the bottom of the body 8, which printing die may comprise one or more lines of raised imprinting characters 14 thereon. The longitudinal sides of the body 8 are provided with laterally projecting horizontal ribs 15-15.

The intermediate part 4 forms a generally rectangular open top receptacle having thin longitudinal side walls 18-18, transverse end walls 20-20 and a bottom wall 22, which may be made of a molded synthetic plastic materiaL The opening in the top of the receptacle 4 is sized to receive the rectangular body 8 of the stamping member 2 with a friction lit due to the ribs 15-15 of the body 8 which are locking ribs which expand the relatively thin and hence resilient longitudinal side walls 18-18 of the In the most preferred form of the invention, the upper I receptacle 4. The ends of the stamping member body8 ,d0 not bear against the transverse end walls 20.-20.of the receptacle 4 for reasons to be explained. f

The receptacle 4 has an ink pad 24 adhesively or otherwise secured to the top of the bottom wall 22. The ink pad 2.4 is wetted with ink so as to wet the printing die 12 on the bottom of the stamping member 2 when it is pushed down into its normal resting position in the receptacle 4, so that it is ready for immediate use when removed from the receptacle.

The receptacle 4 is telescoped within an open top receptacle constituting the aforesaid bottommost part 6 of the printing kit. The receptacle 6 is preferably rectangular in shape and made of a molded synthetic plastic material, most preferably a transparent material, for reasons to be explained. The receptacle 6 has thin longitudinal side walls 26-26, transverse end walls 28-23 with vertical locking ribs 27-27 on the inside thereof and a bottom wall 30. A pair of finger-receiving arcuate openings 31--31 are formed in the tops of the longitudinal side walls 26--26. The receptacle 6 has a depth substantially greater than that of the receptacle 4 and the opening in the top thereof is sized to receive the latter receptacle with a friction tit due to the locking ribs 27-27 which effect the expansion of the transverse end walls 28-28 of the receptacle 6 outwardly along an axis at right angles to the direction of expansion of the longitudinal side walls 118 of the receptacle 4.

The lower receptacle 6 has suicient space in the bottom thereof to carry printing accessories, such as gummed labels 34 lying flat on the inside of the receptacle 6 and placed within the latter receptacle with the sides thereof to be printed upon facing upwardly, except for the bottommost label 34 which is stamped by the stamping member 2 and inverted so that the stamped side thereof is visible through the transparent bottom wall 30 of the receptacle 6. In this way, the information contained on the stamping member 2 can be seen without requiring the removal of the stamping member 2.

To use the printing kit shown in FIGS. 1-4, the upper receptacle 4 is removed from the lower receptacle 6 by holding the lower receptacle 6 in one hand and grasping the longitudinal sides of the upper receptacle 4 with the iingers of the other hand passing through the iinger-receiving openings 31-31 in the lower receptacle 6, and pulling the upper receptacle 4 together with the stamping member within it from the lower receptacle. Then the stamping member 2 may be pulled from within the upper receptacle 4 to expose the ink wetted printing die 12 of the bottom thereof which is then placed upon the uppermost label in the lower receptacle 6 or on another surface to be printed.

The assembly just described thus forms a compact superimposed assembly of a stamping member 10, an ink pad receptacle 4 and an accessory containing receptacle 6 wherein each of the parts is held in fixed relation to the other, and wherein one or more of the parts may be readily removed from the lower receptacle 6 as previously described.

Refer now to FIGS. -8 which illustrate another form of the present invention which also comprises three superimposed and normally telescoped parts 2', 4' and 6'. There parts are, in most respects, identical to the parts 2, 4 and 6 in the form of the invention of FIGS. 1 4, and corresponding parts thereof will be similarly numbered except that a prime will be added to the numbers in the embodiment of FIGS. 5-8. The uppermost part or stamping member 2' thus includes a handle 10' projecting above the parts 4' and 6', a printing die 12 on the bottom thereof and locking ribs -15 at the longitudinal sides thereof. In the illustrative example of the invention, the printing die 12' is provided with two lines of raised characters 14'14 located respectively along the longitudinal margins of the stamping member. The locations of these lines of indicia are illustrated by the printed lines .3S-35 printed upon the label 34 in FIG. 6 by the printing die I12'.

The intermediate part or ink pad receptacle 4 has an ink pad 24' in the bottom thereof. The receptacle 6 differs from the receptacle 6 in the previously described ernbodiment of the invention by having secured to the bottom thereof in any suitable manner a printing die 37 made of a rubberlike or other suitable material. The printing die 37 has one or more lines of raised characters 38 which are located differently than the characters on the printing die 12' of the stamping member 2 and representing different information. For example, the printing die 37 may contain one or more lines of indicia identifying an organization or company, which indicia is located in a band within the marginal areas thereof which underlie the areas of the printing die 12' containing the aforesaid lines of raised characters .i4/ 14' which may represent the name and address of a representative of the organization involved. The receptacle 6' thus forms a stamping member which may be used in conjunction with the stamping member 2' where, for example, it is desired to print a line of information 40 (FIG. 5) on a label 34 in a different color than the indicia 35 thereon printed by the stamping member 2. In such case, the lower receptacle 6' has an ink pad 39 adhesively or otherwise secured to the top of the bottom wall 30' thereof and wetted, for example, with red ink whereas the ink pad 24' may be wetted with black ink. In this example of the invention, it is convenient to make the stamping member 2' black indicating that it imprints in black, and to make the lower receptacle 6' and/or the receptacle 4' red indicating that the lower printing die 37 prints in red.

When the parts 2', 4 and 6' are in their normal assembled conditions, they are telescoped to their maximum extent so that the printing dies 12' and 37 are wetted with ink and, therefore, ready for immediate use.

By passing the fingers of one hand through the fingerreceiving openings 31-31' of the lower receptacle 6', the user may withdraw the stamping member 2 from the receptacle 4' by grasping the handle 10 with the other hand to expose the ink wetted printing die 12', as shown in FIG. 6. Alternately, by holding the lower receptacle 6 in one hand and grasping the upper receptacle 4' in the other hand through the finger-receiving openings 31'-31', the receptacle 4' may be removed from the receptacle 6' to expose the printing die 37 in the bottom of the receptacle 4' as shown in FIG. 5.

In both forms of the invention described above, the removal of the stamping member 2 or 2' from the upper receptacle 4 or 4' does not disturb the friction tit between the upper receptacle 4 or 4 and the lower receptacle 6 or 6' because the wall expanding resilient locking action accomplished by the locking ribs 15-15 or 1515 upon the upper receptacle 4 or 4' acts in a different direction than that obtained by the locking ribs 27-27 or 27'-27' upon the lower receptacle 6 or 6.

If additional stamping members are desired in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a printing die (not shown) would be attached to the receptacle 6' and an additional ink pad containing receptacle similar to but larger than the receptacle 6' would be provided into which the receptacle 6' is telescoped with a friction tit obtained by suitably placed internal vertical locking ribs or the like. In a similar manner, additional printing dies and ink receiving receptacles can be added to the printing kit.

It is apparent that the various forms of the present invention provide a highly compact, simple, economical and handy-to-use printing kit.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A printing kit comprising three superimposed members whose outermost dimensions progressively diminish in size, the uppermost member comprising a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and a handle extending upwardly from the central portion thereof, the intermediate member comprising an open top receptacle into which the stamping member is telescoped and having an ink pad in the bottom thereof against which said printing die may be urged, means for releasably locking said stamping member within the latter receptacle, the bottommost member being an open top receptacle into which the upper receptacle is substantially completely telescoped, where insuiiicient area thereof is exposed to be grasped and the overall height of the telescoping receptacles is of the order of the height of the lower receptacle, the lower receptacle having openings in opposite sides thereof which expose sucient areas of the upper receptacle to enable the user to grasp the upper receptacle and selectively remove the same from the lower receptacle or hold the same within the lower receptacle as the stamping member is removed from the upper receptacle, and there being a space between the bottom of the upper receptacle and the bottom of the lower receptacle for holding a printing accessory.

2. A printing kit comprising three superimposed members whose outermost dimensions progressively diminish in size, the uppermost member comprising a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and a handle extending upwardly from the central portion of the top thereof to a level above the intermediate and bottommost members, the intermediate member comprising an open top receptacle into which said stamping member is substantially completely telescoped except for the handle thereof and having an ink pad in the bottom thereof, means for releasably locking said stamping member within the latter receptacle with the printing die touching the ink pad therein, the bottommost member being an open top receptacle into which the upper receptacle is substantially completely telescoped where insufficient area thereof is exposed to be grasped `and the overall height of the telescoping receptacles is of the order of the height of the lower receptacle, means for releasably locking the upper receptacle within the lower receptacle, the lower receptacle having openings in opposite sides thereof which expose suicient areas of the upper receptacle to enable the user to grasp the upper receptacle `and selectively remove the same from the lower receptacle or hold the same within the lower receptacle as the stamping member is removed from the upper receptacle, and there being a printing accessory between the bottom of the upper receptacle and the bottom of the lower receptacle.

3. Stamping apparatus comprising a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and an upwardly extending handle at the top thereof, a lirst open top ink pad receptacle having resilient side walls and an ink pad for said printing die in the bottom thereof, means for releasably locking said stamping member within said first receptacle comprising locking rib means extending from one of said stamping member and receptacle yalong one of the sides thereof for expanding the resilient receptacle side walls along one axis of the receptacle to form a friction tit therebetween, a second open top receptacle for holding a printing accessory and into which said rst receptacle extends, said second receptacle having resilient side walls, and said irst receptacle being releasably held within said second receptacle by means including locking rib means extending from one of said receptacles for expanding the resilient side Walls of the second receptacle along an axis thereof which is normal to said axis of said tirst receptacle to form a friction tit therebetween.

4. Stamping apparatus comprising a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and an upwardly extending handle at the top thereof, a first open top ink pad receptacle having resilient side walls, an ink pad in the bottom of the rst receptacle and a printing die on the outside of the bottom thereof, means for releasably locking said stamping member within said rst receptacle comprising locking rib means extending from one of said stamping member and receptacle along one of the sides thereof for expanding the resilient receptacle side walls along one axis of the receptacle to form a friction lit therebetween, a second open top ink pad receptacle into which said lirst receptacle extends and having resilient side walls, said first receptacle being releasably held within said second receptacle by means including locking rib means extending from one of said receptacles for expanding the resilient side walls of the second receptacle along an axis thereof which is normal to said axis of said first receptacle to form a friction fit therebetween, and said second receptacle having an ink pad in the bottom thereof beneath said rst receptacle for the printing die on the bottom of said first receptacle.

5. Stamping apparatus comprising a stamping member having a printing die on the bottom thereof and an upwardly extending handle at the top thereof, a first open top receptacle having an ink pad for said printing die in the bottom thereof, said stamping member removably titting within said first receptacle, a second open top receptacle into which said rst receptacle removably extends, said second receptacle having a transparent bottom wall and a stack of labels positioned face up in the bottom of said second receptacle with the bottommost label in said stack stamped by said printing die and inverted, where the information stamped thereon is visible through the transparent bottom wall of the second receptacle.

6. A printing kit as recited in claim 2 wherein said printing accessory is a stack of labels to be imprinted by a stamping member, the labels being positioned face up in the bottom of said lower receptacle and being of a size comparable to the corresponding inside dimensions thereof where the lower receptacle contines and supports the uppermost label of the stack in position to be stamped by the printing die on said stamping member.

7. A printing kit as recited in claim 2 where said printing accessory is an ink pad, and said upper receptacle having a printing die on the bottom thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,334,540 Jones Mar. 23, 1920 2,443,783 Bogin et al. June 22, 1948 2,584,908 Oblinger Feb. 5, 1952 2,693,168 Hummel Nov. 2, 1954 2,819,668 McAneny Jan. 14, 1958 2,891,472 Holzer June 23, 1959 2,913,981 Hermann Nov. 24, 1959 2,920,559 Becker Jan. 12, 1960 

